Digging Woes

[LundExplorer]

My lab is really paw dextrous. He can bat the ball, stick, bone, etc. anywhere he wants. So naturally he is into digging. The kids leave sticks in the yard and I swear the dog pushes them under the fence (chain link) just to dig em out. Can't really blame him.

Problem is I am trying to get the yard in shape to put the house on the market this spring. Anyone know any good anti-digging remedies? I have tried filling the hole with dog poo and covering w/ dirt but that did not work out too well. Just got it tracked in the house.

[Dahitman44]

Wish I could help. My 10-year old lab finally got too tired to dig now my pup is doing it.

To make matters worse, the pup at the garden hose the other day and some of the kid's sand toys.

Boy, I wish the boys and the wife would learn not to leave their stuff out.

Yeah, that's funny until he eats my fishing pole or golf clubs.

I wish I could help -- all we did in the past was give them lots of their own toys to destroy.

[Gus]

I'm going through the same thing right now (house on market digging dog). I also tried the dog poo thing and stern scoldings but none of it worked. At the moment it has just come down to not letting him have un-supervised outdoor time. I know, sounds like a PITA but thats what we have to do. Now if I could just figure out a way to green up those urine dead spots quickly I'd be golden....

[LundExplorer]

My lab has not been much of a chewer but he did eat the moosehide laces off the wife's brand new Steger mukluks. Oh man was she PO'd. Lucky we caught him before he got the whole boot. Both boots has about 3/4" of laces left.

What a knothead.

[Dahitman44]

Yeah, Cooper just ate Yoda this morning. Lucky for him he is small and easy to "release".

I think the boys will be sifting through the poop. Ick

Actually, they will cry and then I will have to do it. Ick ick.

[marine_man]

Typically dogs that dig are bored. Maybe try some chew toys?

What I did to permanently cure the problem is put down 16 x 16 pavers to make the floor of his dog kennel. Pretty reasonably priced and took care of the problem. But, if you're moving soon that might not be the most economical...

marine_man

[Eric Wettschreck]

A couple thoughts;

1. Doggie could be bored. Are they left alone for a long stretch? If so, more toys and more activity. More activity when you or kids are around. Poop the dog out kind of thing.

2. Does the dog know the command "No" or something similar? If not, they should be taught. Many times a good stern "NO" when they are digging will let them know they are doing something wrong. Remember, way back when they were wolves, and living in dens, that they dug. Sometimes you have to break that instinct.

3. Are they hot? Dogs will dig holes and lay in them to cool off. Shelter in shade may cure this.

[Dotch]

Have a border collie that does the same thing. Gus is also very good with those front paws and will find something to do as most borders will if left unsupervised. "No" is a wonderful command that he understands well but catching him in the act is essential otherwise it's just noise. He's very sneaky though and can dig as fast as any dog I've ever seen. About the only thing that keeps Gus from enlarging existing "starter" holes is for me to take a leak in them, sorta the alpha dog thing. This works fine if you live in the country but not sure how it would fly with the Mrs. if you live in town and collected your "specimen". Just an idea. Also an excuse to drink an additional beverage or two. "But honey, I'm just trying to protect the lawn!"

[LundExplorer]

Dotch, I agree that catching him in the act may be a deterrent, but my lab is a sneaky one too.

I like your alpha wolf idea. Might have to try it.

[IRISHSOBNO4]

I also have a boarder collie and he is a fine excavator, and is now teaching our new lab pup the fine art of excavation.

They seem to know when you are not paying attention if only for a moment mine will go under the deck or the other side

of the house while I'm throwing a bumper for the labs. I finally broke down and got an e-collar.

he seems to get the picture now.

[Dotch]

lol... Here I thought I was the only one who had this problem with border collies. Turn your back and boom! Instant hole. My Lab bless her soul was a good digger too but responded well to the urine trick. Forgot to mention, if it rains a lot, it needs to be repeated more often.

[2x4]

I have a English Setter pup that is starting to do some digging. I have just purchased a training collar. In their training manual, they say to put the collar on a constant shock (doesn't need to be a lot) when they are digging. Don't verbally correct them, just give them the shock. They will associate the correction with digging. This is also supposed to work with them getting into the garbage.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm no expert but I don't know if I agree with that. I say this as I've always been under the mind set that shock collars, used for training, are used to re-enforce known commands.

[marine_man]

I agree with boilerguy here... Plus, when you're not home the dog will be digging with no correction until you get the point across, which will not help matters at all.

marine_man

[LundExplorer]

I think I am going to try out the "marking my territory" technique once the snow clears.

[walleye101]

I've got a yard full of holes, so I'm headed to town for a case of beer. This is going to be fun.

[vetobe]

Most dogs like to dig. One of the tricks that I find that works is to actually give them a place to dig (i.e. kids sandbox). Try burying treats or toys and let them go to town. You usually have to do this a couple of times to get them to recognize the area but after that, they typically will go back again and again

[Dotch]

Just a note: Border Collie Gus atarted digging a hole last week along the front of the new addition so took matters into my own hands. He stopped digging there and dug on the back side of the house where I really don't care what he does. It's warming up; stay hydrated!

[jigging-matt]

Bump